So… It’s over. The convention. The workshop. It’s all over.

Or that’s my story as I work my way through a list of final things to do:

1. Write thank you notes (more…)
2. Turn in wrap-up articles (more…)
3. Unpack art supplies
4. Catch up on blog
5. Take the dogs for a walk before they call the humane society

So, Thursday I was wowed by the volunteers to hang the show.

Friday

Friday was the “half day” of the convention. Mostly it’s about checking people in and a meet-and-greet reception where we gets things going.

I had hoped to offer a jet boat tour with Willamette Jet Boat Tours, but not enough people signed up. Lots of people, however, signed up for a class on historic homes with Jenny Armitage.

Saturday

This swung us into the “big day” of Saturday with 18 break-out sessions, an artists reception, followed by a banquet. And my camera battery died Friday, so I have not a single photo to show for it.

Here I need to pause again to sing the praises of volunteers. All of my teachers were volunteers and EVERY SINGLE ONE of them showed up on time, well prepared to teach spectacular lessons. Can you imagine anywhere else in life where 18 separate individuals just show up to work? For free? And do a great job?

I’m still blown away.

There were a few glitches:

• The cleaning crew took away the plastic from a previously prepped room (I panicked)
• I realized I booked the wrong room for Sunday’s lecture and had to beg Clackamas Community College for another room (CCC is a rock star, by the way)
• I did not realize that the traveling show crates were ginormous and incapable of behaving in a normal manner (long story)
• There were reports of people not paying for attended classes (I never figured this out, but it was weird on all fronts)
• I moved around some classes from one room to another to make people more comfortable, which instead created confusion (mea culpa)
• The Pioneer Center, which had not been the easiest facility to work with in the months leading up to this event, played the part of the villain in the tale (with the exception of one person, who was a rock star)
• I was left nearly on my own to clean up the Pioneer Center (thank you J.P. for not abandoning me too, and to R.R. and his wife who only left at my urging because they needed to e someplace else)
• We left the coffee pot on at the reception (another call to CCC Security)

But body language of the attendees indicated that everyone was having fun, so I did my best to keep my panic under wraps.

Tara’s major meltdown

Things were going well until about 5:30 on Saturday when I started to get phone calls about “the band wants to know how they are getting paid.” I had hired a band, lead by the husband of a friend, for the reception on Saturday. We had signed a contract, he showed up, and people were texting me that the music was great. The only hitch? I had forgotten to tell our Treasurer that there needed to be a check for him.

By this time I had been doing physical labor for 11 hours. I hadn’t slept well in two nights. I had pushed my social side to the max. And, though I didn’t know it at the time, I was coming down with a cold.

So… I had a meltdown. I was crying and hysterical, even after our treasurer stopped what she was doing to sort things out. It was all too much, and I felt horrible (emotionally and physically) and because of it I ended up not attending the banquet (ably supervised by my lovely co-chair, Patty.) So me and my headache went back to the hotel where I went to bed, though I was still too keyed up to sleep well for the third night running.

Sunday

Sunday things were looking brighter. Sunday is a slower day, with only the business meeting and juror lecture. Two events, one site, with the last event over at 1. I might get home before 5pm?

Indeed, after a normal business meeting and an excellent lecture and demo by juror Francesco Fontana, we were able to clean up, drop off a few remaining things, and head home.

The center painting is by Francesco Fontana. It’s the view from his hotel room of the Abernathy Bridge over the Willamette River at dawn.

Where I collapsed.

Summary

I’m proud of my work on this convention, and I think it went well. However, I’m not sure I’d do it again because of my meltdown on Saturday. That was the number one thing I was afraid of happening and in spite of how hard i worked and prepped, I’m really disappointed in myself for not being able to hold it together for the whole event.

Next: The workshop!

It occurred to me a few minutes ago as I was surfing Pintrest for “job chart for adults at a convention” that I may have snapped.

After more than two years of planning, “my” convention is just 11 days away.

To recap, more than two years ago I volunteers to be a co-chair of the Watercolor Society of Oregon Fall Convention. At the time I lived in Oregon City and I felt that a convention there would be a neat thing. Once I found an equally foolish person to take care of the “social/food” side of the convention, we were off.

Frankly, I think it’s going to be a great event.

• We’ve lined up great location and teachers.
• Clackamas Community College is allowing us to hang the show in their Pauling Gallery.
• The list of classes is awesome (if I do say so myself.)
• The juror is internationally known and his workshop filled up within a few weeks of “opening.”
• I’ve eaten the food of the caterer and I thought it was great.
• People have volunteered readily.
• We met our deadlines for publishing.
• The budget is in the black.

And you are ALL invited to the Artists Reception Saturday, October 8 from 4-6pm at the Pauling Gallery at CCC!

Now, if I can just stay calm…

Here’s the thing. This is the kind of event that brings out my dictator complex.

Now, it is my observation that people don’t like to be bossed around.

Which leads me to my quest to find a “job chart for adults at a convention” on Pintrest.

Can I count on you all for an intervention if it becomes necessary?

One of the perks of being an adult (there really aren’t too many when you think about it) is the right to go off track when you take a class without anyone scolding you.

This is, obviously, is a mixed blessing. While it can be fun to run off on a tangent, if you are earnestly trying to learn something and a shiny object distracts you, well, your choice is to take the class again or put on your grown-up blinders.

Last week (week 5 of Messy Palette Club), for various reasons, I wasn’t inspired by the topic. At the very least I just didn’t want to. So I got to thinking about how to make my horse paintings more simple (the topic of the Messy Palette Club Summer Session is simplicity) and I started going through photos.

Next thing I know, this photo caught my attention.

The pencil came out… then a peach wash… and tonight I’m contemplating the finishing touches on this.

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The jockey’s face needs some more work. And I may add some more highlights to the tack.

But this was so much fun, I started another one tonight. Here’s my reference photo.

And here’s my start.

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I’d say something about how I should go off track more often, but really… I don’t think I need more encouragement to do that.

The heat drove me from Salem down to the beach to see my mom. I took my paints with me so I would have an excuse other than heat for this migration (not that I really needed one.)

I drove out a side road next to the Siletz Bay Wildlife Refuge to see if I could find an out of the way place to paint. I found a bridge located on a bridge and set up my shop for a couple of hours.

I did a very poor job with my reference photos, but the assignment was to create a value sketch before painting.

Then I went into my “full” painting.

I would have liked to get the marsh grass a richer, deeper yellow.

Then I turned and look east. I didn’t get any reference photos, but I did two paintings.

And this one, which took a leap off the bridge when a car went back and into the weeds below. No rescue was possible (if I wished to live.)

It’s catch up time again!

This week the focus was simplifying the major landscape elements. We were challenged to do a painting, selecting five key parts and to work out how to simplify them.

I went out to the Ankeny Wildlife Refuge and set up on Eagle Marsh for a couple hours of painting.

It was so much fun, I decided to do another version.

In both versions I struggled to get the water to “lie flat.”

Yes, folks, I have gone all in to try to get my creativity back. In addition to the “Writing and Illustrating Children’s Books” class (Mom got a HUGE kick out of this post), I signed up to take an online watercolor class (Summer Session Watercolor Painting Class a.k.a. Messy Palette Club) with a local instructor I have been wanting to take a class from for quite a while.

I have mainly been familiar with Vinita Pappas’ simply breathtaking plein air landscapes, though she does studio abstract and representational paintings as well. Several times a year she posts online classes, and this time I decided to go for it. The price is similar to an “in person” class through the local community college. Also, if you need to, you can take your time and catch up with the lessons.

Also appealing was the proposed “focus” of the summer session: Simplicity.

Week 1 officially started last Tuesday. While Monday is my painting night (don’t laugh too much), I did some work on Wednesday to see how things worked.

Lesson 1 was about “loosing edges.” Vinita demonstrated on an apple. I had an onion.

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It’s harder than it looks! The idea is to keep the key parts of the shape (the lightest light, the darkest dark) and see how much of the rest you can “suggest.” I think I got a little over detailed.

Then we did a wet-into-wet exercise. And Key ate it (rotten dog).

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I salvaged a little and did the homework.

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I’ll try to add a little bit of ink for a barn or something after it dries.

Then I decided to experiment. I thought the lost edges experiment would be fun with horse legs. I took sepia (eventually adding white gouache because I lost too many lights) and went to town.

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I think there is some potential here! I might try again.